Queen of Hearts
by ssapientia
Summary: She is no longer the queen of a hundred Hyuuga warriors, but of all the ghosts lingering within the Uchiha walls. Told in short snippets


**I don't own Naruto**

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><p>"I do love you" Naruto says to her one day after the war, "I love you all, I just..." Hinata was nothing but pleased Naruto had told her the truth (stuttered it like she always did as a child) she smiled her brightest for him and his bravery. She only cried that night because she wished she had told him sooner, not because she felt like she had more of a chance but so his rejection would be nothing more than distant echo by now, raking across her mind.<p>

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><p>Sasuke is treated like as much of an outcast as Naruto was. Only the young blonds protesting allows him to stay, for every extra mile Naruto has gone for the village and every hushed insult he had endured in his youth washes away Sasuke's sins like the blood off his katana. But ninjas don't forgive, and they most certainly don't forget. Hinata watches him train by the Naka River, watching his wrist twist and dive. When she is lost thinking about the song of the tree branches in the breeze he sneaks behind her and holds an old kunai against her pale neck. "Come to mock the traitor" he hisses, and she is taken aback by the venom in his voice. It reminds her of a thousand small snakes racing each other along a wide empty bank, his mind crowded yet lonely. "Of course not" she whispers back, "of course not."<p>

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><p>"Do you think they will forgive me," Sasuke asks her one cool evening, resting against the riverbank after sparing with the wind. His eyes are unfocused, cloudy and he is staring at the shifting green water. She thinks for a moment he is talking to the river, not her, she does that sometimes, confides her secrets in the stars as they twinkle back their wisdom. "Whatever do you mean" she hums back quietly while carefully unwrapping a rice ball and offering it to him. "Don't act ignorant, I know you are far from it" he bites back at her and she flinches at the serpent growling at her, hidden in the back of his throat. "I don't know" she whispers honestly, "perhaps they won't."<p>

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><p>No one seems to understand their unlikely friendship, Kiba and Shino try to discourage her from spending time with him when it first becomes apparent, but give up once they realise she simply won't listen. Every time the old rookie nine meet for friendly training or a social gathering they arrive together, silently walking side by side. They don't hover particularly close to each other, but everyone senses the companionship between them, like a secret pact that not even Naruto can unravel.<p>

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><p>When Hinata moves into the Uchiha compound everyone can't help but be surprised. It is not because her father is frightfully cruel, in fact Hinata suspects he is somewhat sad in his own odd way, but because the arrangement works out for the best. Hanabi forehead will stay clear and unblemished, and Hiashi declares that Hinata will also stay clear of the mark under one condition, that she marries the Uchiha. He agrees easily because he has no reason to protest, so it is done, in the mid winter while everyone is shivering but the bed keeps them warm. The seal is for slaves, it symbolises servitude and obedience, and she will never be a slave. She is a queen, but not of a few hundred Hyuuga warriors ready to obey her every whim and need. Now she is queen of the empty halls of the Uchiha compound, and all the blood and nightmares lingering in the corridors.<p>

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><p>Some nights Hinata catches Sasuke walking continuously up and down the halls, blackened by the darkness and shadows. "What are you searching for" she asks one night, leaning against the doorframe to their bedroom. He glances up at her and she knows he is frustrated that she interrupted his frantic pacing. Hinata does see what he's doing; she did the same thing often once her mother passed. "Searching for ghosts" she whispers as he roughly shoves passed, "they only come when you're not looking" she delicately tells the empty hall.<p>

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><p>Hinata doesn't know how she ended up here; it is nothing like the life she dreamed about as a child. But when Sakura and Naruto grab her hands and thank her so intensely for being there for Sasuke, or when Hanabi is finally declared head of the Hyuuga clan and steps up proudly to take their fathers place or when Sasuke rests his head against her newly swollen belly, she is happy, in these moments. Naruto and Sakura still argue bitterly, Hanabi runs to her crying at times with stress and anger leaping around in her stomach, Sasuke still wanders the halls, but not as often and not in such a painfully desperate way. He's not searching for his rotting father in the hallways to scream and yell at, or his mother to cry and despair for. He's looking for Itachi and his childhood, to say thank you for everything, and then he comes back to her to say it again.<p>

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><p><strong>AN- Thanks for reading, please leave a review stating your thoughts. They make me feel happy :)**


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